Interview with Brain F≠

Sleep Rough LP Cover

Brain F≠ are awesome.  They're a punk band from Charlotte, NC on Sorry State Records and they rock.  They have great lyrics combined with a huge amount of energy and an awesome trade-off between Nick and Elise. The members in the band are from North Carolina and New York pretty much divided in half.  They've been in other bands for a long time, but this new album "Sleep Rough" that came out in 2011 has become a North Carolina favorite and one of my favorite Sorry State releases of that year (what the hell am I saying, they're all my favorite). Here is their tumblr

They begin their album with a quote from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, an awesome book about World War 2/The Cold War/Drugs/A lot of other things.  Pynchon's awesome.  But the first line in that book is incredible.  "A Screaming Comes Across The Sky."  It notes the sound of a V-2 rocket, which travels faster than the speed of sound.  The scary rush and bang comes after the city catches on fire.  I don't know how applicable it is to Brain F≠, since they're a band and not a bomb, though they have a great loud sound and a lot of fun.  I've never been able to see them live, but I wish I had.  This is them live


They're working on a new album currently, which should be coming out on Sorry State/Grave Mistake and is going to be awesome.


I decided to interview them because I like them a lot.  Here's what they said.

Jordan:  When did you guys start the band Brain f≠?  

Brain F≠:We started in late 2009, september or so. Our first show was in November at the Milestone (best venue in the state) with Double Negative, Grids, & Moenda.

Jordan:  Who are the members of the band?  

Brain F≠:  Elise sings, NIck sings and plays guitar, Eddie plays bass, and Bob plays drums.

No Caption Needed But This

Jordan:  What did the name Brain Flannel come from? 

Brain F≠:  Divine intervention after weeks of thinking and a dissertation's worth of hand-scrawled pages of band names. Agle and the Squale Bagels was a close second.

Jordan:  What's up with the logo? 

Brain F≠:  It's shorthand for "lannel". 

Jordan:  Did you guys play in bands before? 

Brain F≠:  Nick was/is in Logic Problem and Joint Damage, Bob was in Grids (and is now in Infección and Double Negative), Ed was in Yardwork, Elise wasn't.

Jordan:  What's the scene in Charlotte like? 

Brain F≠:  It's very enjoyable and very diverse - Paint Fumes are probably the busiest right now, Nö Pöwer are the rawest, Andy the Doorbum is the realest, and all their crowds intermingle. Great Architect is one of the craziest assemblages of brilliance you could ever wish for. We all go to each others' shows - there isn't much segregation between genres or whatever, you know? Lots of good folks. 

Jordan:  What is a typical Brain f≠ show like? 

Brain F≠:  "Let's have a shambles."

Jordan:  How did you get in touch and work with Sorry State records? 

Brain F≠:  Heavy amounts of blackmail. You'd be surprised what kind of trouble a fixation on the live-action Tick series can get someone into. 

Jordan:  How's the new album coming along?

Brain F≠:  We are waiting for the final mixes. And we have to name it. But it's pretty close to being a final product. Unless the above comment blew our agreement, it's gonna be a joint release between Sorry State and Grave Mistake again.

Jordan:  What separates the new album from the 1st one? 

Brain F≠:  This one is completely in English.

Jordan:  How do you go about recording?   

Brain F≠:  Do you have a certain studio or do you prefer home recording? Our tape was recorded (mostly live) by Charlotte luminary Henry Thibodaux White at Yauhaus. "So Dim" and half of "Restraining Order" were recorded (not live) by Rick Contes at Birthwave (at the time was our practice space/his house). Our version of "Jesus & Tequila" on the Rich Ivey-curated Dick's Picks 4006 tape was recorded by our very own Edwin Jamal Schneider in our practice space. Both albums were recorded by William Evans (of Whatever Brains) - Sleep Rough in Elise's garage, The Real New Brain F≠ LP in the Whatever Brains secret underground volcano lair. Lots of cigarettes.

Jordan:  Which bands helped influence your sound?   

Brain F≠:  Double Negative

Jordan:  Do you have any plans to tour in the near future? 

Brain F≠:  We plan to visit both the west coast and our European motherlands after the new record comes out. We'll play NYC and NC (where we're evenly distributed between) sporadically until then.

Jordan:  Have you played shows with any bands in particular that were really fun? 

Brain F≠:  White Lung/Nü Sensae at Sewercide Mansion (RIP) was one of the best shows we've ever played, the Hopscotch show and aftershow (with Rich Ivey as a human set list) was the most affectionate and probably most fun, and the best out of town was probably with GG King & Cops at 529 in Atlanta. That GG King set was one of the best things we'd ever seen. New Year's at yauhaus this year was really great, too.

Jordan:  What are some of the band's favorite albums of 2011? 

Brain F≠:  TV Ghost, GG King, Total Control, Escroto de Rata, Shitty Limits final outing,.. Whatever Brains (and the new one is even better)

Jordan:  When can we expect those sick t-shirts on your facebook page to come out? 

Brain F≠:  they are available now, but I think we're almost out. Write us at brainflannel at gee male